Table 1.

Previous studies on podoplanin immunostaining in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

			Assessment
			LVI		LVD		Cancer cells expression		Stroma expression
Refs.	Sample size	pT	LNM	Prognosis	LNM	Prognosis	LNM	Prognosis	LNM	Prognosis
Tomita et al. [13]	115	T1	√	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Gockel et al. [14]	21	T1	√	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Our previous study. [15]	107	T1-4	√	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Mori et al. [16]	46	T1-3	√	—	√	—	—	—	—	—
Inoue et al. [17]	81	T1-3	—	—	√	√	—	—	—	—
Imamura et al. [18]	159	Tis-T3	√	√	√	√	—	—	—	—
Rahadiani et al. [19]	61	T1-3	—	—	—	—	√	√	—	—
Chuang WY et al. [20]	59	T1-4	√	—	—	—	√	√	—	—
Tong L. et al. [21]	56	T1-4	—	—	√	√	√	√	—	—
Current study	107	T1-4	—	—	√	√	√	√	√	√

Note: LVI, lymphatic vessel invasion; LVD, lymphatic vessel density; LNM, lymph node metastasis.